Frequently Asked Question Friday – USCG Auxiliary Age Requirements

A very frequent asked question associated with joining the USCG Auxiliary is age. Due to Auxiliary members being uniformed civilians of the Coast Guard, we sometimes get mistakenly associated with the stricter age requirements of the active duty.

What are the minimum and maximum ages to join the USCG Auxiliary?

The minimum age is 17 years old. There is no maximum age.

We value having members being able fulfill many different and helpful roles in the Coast Guard. As long as you are able to physically accomplish your chosen job, we won’t prevent you from volunteering because of age.

Gaspare, I hope you took the steps and joined.I would have joined sooner had I known of the opportunity to serve at an older age. I am still waiting for my clearance but I am already deeply committed.The training is amazing! So many online opportunities! and as for thesummer! well! lookout! There may be a little snow on this “roof.” But the furnace is in full blast! Can’t wait to be training on the boat! Good Luck!
Barb S.
Flotilla 53-1-1

Good morning my name is Robert Dempsey, I’m very much interested in joining the Coast Guard auxiliary as soon as you have your foot somewhat in the door would you be able to give me any advice andon how to actually join

Please go to http://join.cgaux.org/gouscgaux.php fill out the form and get your id and schedule ready to meet with the members, attend a few meetings, decide what you’d like to qualify for, and submit your fingerprints and photograph with a member that submits it to the CG for an investigative background check. The Human Resource Officer for the flotilla in your area will probably be your first main contact. Good luck!

My son is 16 years old and will be entering his junior year in high school. He has expressed interest in the Coast Guard and I was trying to find out ways he could experience what that was like and I thought of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. I do understand that to join this, it is a minimum of 17 years of age. Can you recommend where he can start to actually meet some people and maybe shadow them to get an idea of what it would be like to be in the Coast Guard? Many thanks!

Daria Flynn, Thank you for contacting us about the US Coast Guard. There are several options that are available to you. If you go to http://www.cgaux.org and enter your zip code near join me you can get some flotillas in your area and contact them about their meeting times and place. There is also an opportunity for your son to visit a Coast Guard Station in your area and ask them to talk about their service duties. There is also the USCG Academy AIM program available to juniors which allows your son to be at the USCG Academy in New London, CT information is at http://uscga.edu/aim.aspx?id=88&terms=AIM. Please let us know if you have any interest in one or more of these options. Finally, you can go to a recruiter with your son but first visit https://www.gocoastguard.com/ You can also monitor various US Coast Guard Facebook and Twitter accounts and friend them for possible events.

Hi I was thinking about joining the Coast Guard Auxiliary. I work six days a week and I was thinking about going during the night time. What I want to know is how many days do you have to do and also how many hours a day Is there a minimum of days and hours for the Coast Guard Auxiliary?

There are no minimum requirements of hours or days as a member. That can change with qualifications like Boat crew which has 10 hours/year aviation 10 hours/year, and other missions. If you do not serve the hours then you may lose the qualification and would have to retrain all over again. During night very few missions are open to you initially. Public affairs, communication services, meetings, and some training are held at night. An active member serves 10 hours/yr or more as a general guideline.

Leave a Comment

We welcome your comments on postings at all Coast Guard sites/journals. These are sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard to provide a forum to talk about our work providing maritime safety, security and stewardship for the American people to secure the homeland, save lives and property, protect the environment, and promote economic prosperity.

The information provided is for public information only and is not a distress communication channel. People in an emergency and in need of Coast Guard assistance should use VHF-FM Channel 16 (156.8 MHz), dial 911, or call their nearest Coast Guard unit.

All comments submitted are moderated. The Coast Guard retains the discretion to determine which comments it will post and which it will not. We expect all contributors to be respectful. We will not post comments that contain personal attacks of any kind; refer to Coast Guard or other employees by name; contain offensive terms that target specific ethnic or racial groups, or contain vulgar language. We will also not post comments that are spam, are clearly off topic, or that promote services or products.

The U.S. Coast Guard disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from any comments posted on this page. This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

If you have specific questions regarding a U.S. Coast Guard program that involves details you do not wish to share publicly please contact the program point of contact listed at http://www.uscg.mil/global/mail/

The U.S. Coast Guard will not collect or retain Personally Identifiable Information unless you voluntarily provide it to us. To view the U.S. Coast Guard’s Privacy Policy, please visit: http://www.uscg.mil/global/disclaim.asp

Please note: Anonymous comments have been disabled for this journal. It is preferred that you use your real name when posting a comment. WE WILL POST THE NAME YOU ENTER WHEN YOU SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT. Also, you are welcome to use Open ID or other user technologies that may be available.

ï»¿

This is an official blog of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. Please visit the Coast Guard Auxiliary at www.cgaux.org for official information. Any links provided to a U.S. Coast Guard or Auxiliary presence on third party sites are for your reference only. The U.S. Coast Guard and Auxiliary do not endorse any non-government websites, companies, or applications.